YouTube Video Read Tool - Public Video Metadata API

What is YouTube Video Read Tool?

YouTube Video Read turns a public YouTube URL or video ID into a normalized metadata row. It is useful when an agent needs to verify a video citation, prepare a source for summarization, or collect creator research signals.

Setup

For Vernclaw users, enable the connector in Connector Settings, then authenticate the CLI with your Vernclaw API key:

vernclaw-cli status
vernclaw-cli login --api-key YOUR_VERNCLAW_API_KEY

For Vernclaw or AIAPI Center operators, the upstream YouTube provider also needs a Google YouTube Data API key. Create or select a Google Cloud project, enable YouTube Data API v3, then open APIs & Services > Credentials > Create credentials > API key. Restrict the key to YouTube Data API v3 before production use, then configure AIAPI Center's youtube provider with that key.

Parameters

Provide one of:

• url (optional): public YouTube watch, Shorts, embed, live, youtu.be, or youtube-nocookie URL
• id (optional): 11-character YouTube video ID

Example

# Replace VIDEO_ID_HERE with a real public YouTube video ID before running.
vernclaw-cli invoke read.youtube.video --url "https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VIDEO_ID_HERE"
vernclaw-cli invoke read.youtube.video --id VIDEO_ID_HERE

Output

The CLI returns compact JSON by default:

{"status":200,"data":{}}

The data payload includes a normalized result plus a single items row with:

• title and canonical watch URL
• channel details
• publish time and duration
• public views, likes, and comments when available
• default output omits provider/source metadata and raw payloads

Use --pretty only for human-readable inspection. For automation, parse the JSON envelope and numeric status.

Limits

Only public videos are supported. Transcript text, comments, captions, private videos, and authenticated YouTube account data are not included in this version.

Troubleshooting

• No API key configured for provider: youtube: Vernclaw can reach AIAPI Center, but AIAPI Center does not yet have the upstream YouTube provider key configured.
• model_not_supported with provider youtube: check that AIAPI Center has the youtube provider enabled and mapped to a YouTube Data API v3 key.
• Invalid video ID or URL: provide a public watch, Shorts, embed, live, youtu.be, youtube-nocookie URL, or an 11-character YouTube video ID.